Bitcoin Vs Cardano
Bitcoin vs Cardano, the original digital cryptocurrency, founded in 2009, vs one of its newest competitors, founded only in 2017, but already making a very big name for itself in the crypto world. Despite its youth, Cardano has already climbed the rankings in terms of market cap. Read this 2021 Cardano (ADA) vs Bitcoin (BTC) comparison to learn what they each are, their similarities and differences and important considerations like energy consumption, price, distribution and security. You can also check out our list of the top Bitcoin vs Cardano brokers below.
Top Bitcoin & Cardano Trading Brokers
#1 - IG Group
11 popular cryptos are available, plus two crypto crosses. A crypto index is also offered, following the value of the top 10 digital currencies by market cap. All cryptos are available via CFDs.
"IG offers a superb all-round package. Beginners will appreciate the user-friendly web platform and secure trading environment while established investors will rate the 17,000+ markets and top-tier market research."
- DayTrading Review Team
- Crypto Spread: Variable
- Crypto Lending: No
- Platforms: MT4, AutoChartist, TradingCentral
- Crypto Staking: No
- Minimum Deposit: $0
- Regulator: FCA, ASIC, NFA, CFTC, DFSA, BaFin, MAS, FSCA
About IG Group
IG is an award-winning broker that has an excellent reputation globally. The brand-US offers spread betting, CFD and forex trading across a comprehensive suite of markets. IG is also multi-regulated, provides a great trading app and has 50 years experience.
Pros
- Over 17,000 assets are available spanning stocks, forex, commodities, baskets, futures, options and more
- Users have access to a comprehensive range of charts, market news, client sentiment data, and analysis tools
- Opening an account takes less than 5 minutes
Cons
- Inactivity charge
- No copy trading platform
#2 - CEX.IO
CEX.IO offers hundreds of popular cryptocurrencies including big names like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin. The trading platform is well-designed with sophisticated charting and analysis tools. Traders can also reduce their monthly volumes through the tiered pricing structure.
"CEX.IO will serve a range of crypto investors looking to buy, sell, trade, hold and earn. The tiered pricing structure will appeal to active traders while rookie investors will enjoy the straightforward platform interface and excellent education."
- DayTrading Review Team
- Crypto Spread: 0.15% maker & 0.25% taker (Standard)
- Crypto Lending: Yes
- Platforms: TradingView
- Crypto Staking: Yes
- Minimum Deposit: $20
- Regulator: GFSC
About CEX.IO
CEX.IO is one-stop-shop for crypto investors where you can buy and sell popular digital tokens, speculate on prices with margin trading and earn rewards through staking. Since it launched in 2013, more than five million traders have deposited over $7.5 billion. CEX.IO is registered with the FinCEN in the US and the GFSC in the EU.
Pros
- Wide range of payment methods including PayPal
- 24/7 support with fast response times during tests
- Charting package from TradingView
Cons
- Limited regulatory oversight
- High deposit and withdrawal fees
- Cluttered interface on Exchange Plus
#3 - Uphold
I found that you can buy and sell 250+ crypto assets with fiat currencies or in crypto pairs using the straightforward mobile app or through Uphold's browser-based account homepage. This is significantly more than many rivals. You can also earn up to 16% APY by staking one or more out of 32 valid tokens, or send tokens to an external wallet.
"I opened an Uphold account, tested every inch of the platform and what stands out for me is how convenient it is for accessing the crypto markets. I can buy, trade and transfer over 250 digital tokens in a few clicks. It is a one-stop-shop for crypto investors."
- DayTrading Review Team
- Crypto Spread: Up to 1.5%
- Crypto Lending: No
- Platforms: Desktop Platform, Mobile App
- Crypto Staking: Yes
- Minimum Deposit: $0
About Uphold
Uphold is a digital asset platform offering a range of services, from crypto trading and staking to payment cards that provides rewards and easy multi-currency payments. The company was established in 2015 and has enabled $4+ billion in transactions. Uphold is now active in 180+ countries and deals in 200+ crypto and fiat currencies.
Pros
- I think the app is extremely easy to use with a slick design and navigation
- Over 250 cryptos are available including major tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum
- Two-step authentication bolsters user security
Cons
- I find the customer service slow with limited contact options
- Uphold operates with limited regulatory oversight
- There is a 2.49% fee if you want to use debit or credit cards
#4 - M1 Finance
M1 Finance users can open a crypto account to invest in 10 cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano and Solana. You can also invest in six crypto-related funds and ETFs, which are a good way to get broader exposure to the digital currency market.
"US investors who want a straightforward, commission-free way to invest in stocks and crypto with AI-powered strategy support should consider M1 Finance."
- DayTrading Review Team
- Crypto Spread: Variable
- Crypto Lending: No
- Platforms: Own
- Crypto Staking: No
- Minimum Deposit: $100
- Regulator: SEC, FINRA
About M1 Finance
M1 Finance is a US brokerage that allows users to build a customizable investment portfolio from a range of 6000+ stocks and shares, ETFs and cryptocurrencies. The innovative 'pie' based portfolio management system allows traders to build several portfolios with different aims, and the brokerage supports machine-learning tools that can provide automated portfolio management.
Pros
- Straightforward proprietary platform
- Multiple portfolios – up to five accounts under the same login
- Vast range of stocks and shares to choose from
Cons
- Only available in the US – eToro is a top alternative for the UK market
- The way trades are placed puts transaction timing out of your control
- No stop-limit or stop-loss orders
#5 - Firstrade
Take positions on dozens of leading cryptocurrencies with low fees and 24/7 investing. Traders need just $1 to start speculating on popular tokens like Bitcoin. Clients can also buy cryptos instantly in a few straightforward steps.
"We recommend Firstrade for beginner investors looking to trade US stocks with no commissions. There is a wealth of free education plus premium-quality research and trading ideas from Morningstar, Briefing.com, Zacks and Benzinga."
- DayTrading Review Team
- Crypto Spread: Variable
- Crypto Lending: No
- Platforms: Own
- Crypto Staking: No
- Minimum Deposit: $0
- Regulator: SEC, FINRA
About Firstrade
Firstrade is a US-headquartered discount broker-dealer with authorization from the SEC. The company is also a member of FINRA/SIPC. With welcome bonuses, powerful tools and apps, plus commission-free trading, Firstrade Securities is a popular online brokerage. It is also quick and easy to open a new account.
Pros
- Low OTC fees
- Commission-free investing
- Crypto trading
Cons
- Visa Credit/debit card deposits and withdrawals not accepted
- No demo/paper trading account
- No 24/7 customer support
What Is Bitcoin?
Before delving deep into Bitcoin vs Cardano, let us first explore Bitcoin, the world’s first decentralized, digital currency, by itself. The crypto was announced back in 2008 and a person or group, going by the name Satoshi Nakamoto, made an announcement to the cryptography mailing list at metzdowd.com, stating “I’ve been working on a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third parties”. This whitepaper went on to become the Magna Carta for Bitcoin and all cryptos today.
Following the first blocks being mined on January 3rd and 8th, Bitcoin mining and the blockchain began in earnest as they are today. Bitcoin, and all the cryptos that were created following its release, experienced steady growth in the early years. 2017 saw the start of the first crypto bubble where all prices soared and Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $19,783.06. Following this, prices fluctuated as bubbles came and burst and as recently as September 2021 Bitcoin hit a price of $50,128. Today’s Bitcoin price can be found on CoinMarketCap.
Comparing Bitcoin vs Cardano’s basic objectives, Bitcoin is a list of transactions. These transactions are stored on something known as the blockchain. Bitcoin itself has no physical form; it is purely digital. The blockchain consists of a series of statements, stating information such as person X sent Bitcoin to person Y. All this information is stored in blocks and each block is verified by miners, who ensure each transaction is legitimate and are rewarded with new BTC tokens for their effort.
Many people like to use Bitcoin as a store of value and a way to get rich. Those who got in early experienced huge profits during the initial crypto bubbles. Even today, large fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin presents opportunities for traders to make a profit. On top of this, lots of online businesses offering goods and services accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. Even some well-known brands such as Expedia allow BTC as a payment option for their holidays. The growth and strength of Bitcoin were further highlighted in June 2021 when El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender.
What Is Cardano?
Comparing Bitcoin vs Cardano, the latter first entered development in 2015, built by a team spearheaded by Charles Hoskinson, the co-founder of Ethereum. Cardano was intended to be an alternative to Ethereum, offering many of the same applications as the crypto giant, such as smart contracts. However, Cardano implemented updates to the Ethereum model in a bid to out-do its inspiration.
This new blockchain moved away from the energy-intensive proof of work system in favour of the eco-friendly proof of stake system. This meant that Cardano’s carbon footprint was significantly smaller than rival crypto coins and led to it being referred to as a ‘green coin’.
Both Bitcoin vs Cardano benefitted from the DeFi boom, the latter was founded then and reached a peak value of $1.0797 at the beginning of 2018. However, the price soon dropped back to less than $0.05. Cardano started to grow consistently when news began emerging of the immense environmental impact of crypto coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The news saw green coins thrive and, soon after, Cardano hit an all-time high of $2.9634. The Cardano blockchain can be used to build smart contracts and create decentralized applications (DAPPs). The Cardano coin, ADA, can be used as a store of value or added to a stake pool, which leads to rewards through the proof of stake system. Some companies also accept Cardano as a form of payment, though it is not common.
Bitcoin And Cardano Similarities
Although they are two very different cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin vs Cardano do share some similarities:
Storage
The storage mechanisms for Bitcoin vs Cardano are much the same. As digital coins, users need suitable wallets to store their cryptocurrency and these come in a variety of forms. The two main categories are hot or cold wallets.
A hot wallet is connected to the internet in some way, while a cold wallet is offline. Typically, cold wallets are more secure as they need to be physically stolen, while hot wallets can be hacked. Within both categories, there are forms of software, hardware and paper wallets. Both Bitcoin and Cardano can be stored in any of these.
How They Are Traded
Bitcoin vs Cardano are both traded on the majority of crypto exchanges. This is because, by market cap, they are the first and fourth largest cryptos available. The range of exchanges offering the two coins means that different methods can be used to trade each of them.
For example, on Kraken, Bitcoin and Cardano can be traded with leverage (up to 1:5). This means that, if a trader were to put down £100, they could open positions worth £500. Spot trading is also possible for both cryptocurrencies on a variety of exchange platforms.
Distribution
Bitcoin vs Cardano both subscribe to the same ideology for supply and distribution. While some cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, have no limit on the number of coins that can be in circulation, this is not the case for Bitcoin or Cardano.
For Bitcoin, the token limit is 21 million, while, for Cardano, it is 45 billion. There is a large difference between the two totals but the idea behind them is the same. Limiting the total number of coins creates scarcity, which in turn means that price increases are almost guaranteed.
Bitcoin And Cardano Differences
Bitcoin and Cardano have some very big differences:
Regulation
The regulation presents a big difference between Bitcoin vs Cardano. Bitcoin, since its inception, has prided itself on being an unregulated entity, free from the input of any regulatory body or central bank. While this boosted its popularity at the start, it has led to some concerns and countries like China and South Korea have begun to crack down on cryptocurrency business and enforce regulation.
Cardano, on the other hand, took a different approach. The crypto is regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). This is part of their drive towards regulatory compliance, one of their goals as a cryptocurrency platform.
Verification System
Bitcoin vs Cardano use two different systems to verify transactions. Bitcoin follows the original proof of work system, where network participants, known as miners, expend large amounts of energy and computing power to verify transactions and add them to the blockchain.
Cardano uses the proof of stake system whereby, instead of focussing on energy expenditure, validators put up a stake of their cryptocurrency to attest to the validity of a block in the blockchain. Validators earn an amount of crypto as a reward, just as miners do in Bitcoin’s system.
Transaction Speed
Bitcoin vs Cardano’s transaction speeds vary greatly. Bitcoin can handle only five transactions per second, it is known to be one of the slower coins, though this has never significantly affected its price.
In contrast, Cardano can handle an astonishing 257 transactions per second, eclipsing Bitcoin’s capabilities. On top of this, Cardano is releasing a new scaling system known as Hydra 2 that promises to boost processing times even further. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has even come out and claimed that the network will eventually be able to process over one million transactions per second.
Market Capitalisation
Bitcoin vs Cardano’s market cap comparison presents a stark difference. Bitcoin is by far the largest of all cryptocurrencies by market cap, with an astounding $780 billion. No matter which graph, chart or table you look at, Bitcoin comes out on top.
Cardano has a market cap of closer to $70 billion, over 11 times smaller. Even so, Cardano remains the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and has shown rapid recent growth. At the end of 2020, it sat at only $5.5 billion. Even with this growth, Cardano’s market cap reaching Bitcoin’s does seem unlikely in the short term.
Value
When comparing Bitcoin vs Cardano, it is impossible not to consider the difference in the values of the two coins. While Bitcoin sits around $43,000 and has hit highs of $50,000, Cardano has a value of only around $2.
Price charts do show that Cardano has grown rapidly over the past year. At the end of 2020, the value of one ADA coin was only £0.184. Since then and since the energy issues of other coins like Bitcoin have been highlighted, Cardano has shown strong growth rates. Current forecasts predict that Cardano could reach $10 by 2025, but this is still far off Bitcoin’s current value.
Energy Usage
In terms of Bitcoin vs Cardano’s energy usage, they couldn’t be further apart. Taking the annual statistics, Bitcoin, with its proof of work system, uses a whopping 126.09 terawatt-hours per year. That is the same amount of energy that Pakistan uses each year (a country with a population of 225 million). Cardano uses only 6 gigawatt-hours per year, a tiny fraction of Bitcoin’s usage. This lower energy consumption is one of the main reasons Cardano has grown in popularity.
Pros Of Bitcoin For Traders
- High volatility
- High trading volume
- Most valuable cryptocurrency
- Traded on almost every exchange
- Oldest and most established crypto
- Highest market cap of any digital currency
Pros Of Cardano For Traders
- Smart contracts
- Regulated by the SEC
- Quick transaction speed
- Low energy consumption
- Third-generation blockchain
- Proof of stake validation system
Final Word On Bitcoin Vs Cardano
Bitcoin vs Cardano, two cryptocurrencies with very different ages and missions. While Bitcoin focuses solely on being a medium of exchange and accruing value, Cardano aims to solve many of the problems facing crypto. With its lower energy consumption and regulation compliance, Cardano is presenting investors with some compelling reasons to trade with them.
FAQs
Does Bitcoin Vs Cardano Use More Energy?
Bitcoin uses a lot more energy than Cardano. This is because the proof of work protocol is very energy-intensive, by design.
Can You Mine Bitcoin Vs Cardano?
As Bitcoin uses the proof of work system, it can be mined. Cardano, on the other hand, cannot, validators need to put up a stake of Cardano as part of the proof system to earn rewards.
Where Can You Find Bitcoin Vs Cardano’s Value?
Both values can be found on CoinMarketCap. Other information such as market cap, price history and 24-hour trading volume is also available.
Is Bitcoin Vs Cardano A Better Investment?
There is no simple answer to this. Bitcoin has proven itself over time to be the most popular but it is unknown what Cardano could grow to.
Where Can I Trade Bitcoin Vs Ethereum?
There is a wide range of exchanges trading Bitcoin and Cardano. Some popular ones include Binance, Coinbase and Kraken.